APPLETON - Brewers are a curious bunch and willing to try just about anything when it comes to answering the oft-asked question: "What do you have that's new?" Just ask Andy Piontek, Stone Arch Brewpub brewer; Ben Fogle, Appleton Beer Factory brewer and director of operations; and Alex Wenzel, Lion's Tail Brewing owner and brewer; all of whom joined me last week on Taproom Live, USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin’s summer session of weekly craft beer shows.

Among the topics discussed were obscure beers they have brewed or would like to brew, the lack of beer cellars in their home and the beers that opened their taste buds to something more than typical domestic lagers.

The show can be seen live at Mr. Brews Taphouse in Appleton and Bellevue (alternating weeks) or on your local USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin website.

The paths to brewing for a living are as unique as each brewer

Fogle started home brewing with his dad and grandfather: One liked building equipment, the other liked making beer, and he liked the entire process.

"We sat around and convinced each other starting a brewery would be a good idea," Fogle said with a laugh. "Everything seems like a good idea until you do it. It is fun. It's just hard."

Once Wenzel's home brewing hobby had taken over the entire basement, his wife told him he had to find a new place for his hobby. So, it became a business.

Piontek started as a dining room server at Stone Arch in Appleton, and while working his way up the ranks, he got to help in the brewery one day.

"The first time I did that, I remember just falling in love with it," he said. "This is something I could do every single day and not feel bad about it at all and I get to create something. I found my calling in life through a chain of events that I didn't expect at all."